Nicholas Soames had a formal meeting with Rosie Winterton MP, Minister of State, on Wednesday 23rd June at the House of Commons to discuss the Best Care, Best Place consultation and the real and understandable concerns of the local population over the process.

Nicholas Soames said; “Whilst the Overview and Scrutiny Committees (OSC) of the local authorities of the Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex County Councils in my view made a serious mistake in not asking Ministers to intervene in such dramatic proposals for Mid Sussex, my discussions with the Minister centred on the whole way the scrutiny process on health matters works”.

The Minister took on board Mr Soames’s reservations and Nicholas Soames is preparing a paper for the Department of Health on the way that he believes the scrutiny should work out in future.

Commenting further Mr Soames said; “It is the process that needs to be fixed and I am looking forward to hearing back from the Minister shortly. The Minister made it clear that had the OSC expressed reservations it could have been called in by the Minister as the Secretary of State had told me in my meeting with him on the 28th February and during my adjournment debate on the 16th March.”